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Agoraphobia causes, symptoms and treatment

Agoraphobia, or fear of crowded places,
is a phenomenon manifesting through people feeling great discomfort,
or even fear when exposed to places where there is a large number of
other people around. People suffering from agoraphobia fear that they
might get hurt in such situations and tend to feel very uncomfortable
every time they are standing in line, or visiting places like train
stations, public events etc. Exposure to crowds triggers a panic
attack in these people, and, thus, in order to protect themselves
from these, agoraphobic people avoid such places altogether. What is
more, in extreme cases, people with this phobia may even be reluctant
to leave their house, unless a familiar person they can trust is
accompanying them. All in all, many people suffer from agoraphobia
occasionally, and, in order to understand this phenomenon, we must
know how it manifests, what causes it and how one can deal with
it.

Reasons behind Agoraphobia

In most cases, agoraphobia is triggered
by having a panic attack in a public place. People who experienced
this, connect the attacks with the situations, and, thereby, believe
that places with a lot of people around trigger their panic attacks.
However, this is not necessarily the case since agoraphobia may
strike out of nowhere, without any panic attacks in the first place.
In fact, agoraphobia is more common than panic attacks are.

Manifestations and Characteristics of
Agoraphobia

This condition affects people between
18 and 35 years of age. It manifests through fear, terror, panic,
horror and similar emotions and sensations, making one incapable of
functioning correctly under certain situations. Interestingly, many
agoraphobic individuals are aware of their phobia and its groundless
conduct. Yet, once the panic attack strikes, they cannot force
themselves out of it. Rather, they feel their heart beat is going
wild; they experience breathing difficulties and have a great desire
to leave the place in question as soon as possible.

For all the reasons mentioned above,
and many others, if you are unable to deal with agoraphobia, and the
condition itself fails to stop occurring, it is best to seek medical
assistance.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Upon visiting a doctor, he/she will ask
you questions or give you some tests to solve. This will help him
differentiate your condition from any others, similar to agoraphobia,
like, for example, social anxiety etc. Also, the doctor will test you
to make sure that your panic attacks are not caused by certain
medications you might be taking. Once agoraphobia is proven,
treatment is suggested.

The treatment involves behavioral
therapies which can either help people deal with agoraphobia by
relaxing and breathing correctly, or can make them more used to
crowded spaces by exposing them to these as often as possible.
Specific medications may also help.